Cash joined them, sitting on the floor as he plucked a piece of hay from the cage and fed it to the sweet animal. “I’ve never been jealous of a glorified rodent before.”
Sola covered Miss Nibbles’ floppy ears with her hands. “Shhh. Don’t hurt her feelings.”
Cash winced. “I’ll try my best. I didn’t mean to hurt yours or Aarav’s either the other night.”
A lump settled in Sola’s throat. Cash was a good man. This was probably where he’d let them down easy before admitting he could never come to love the people who’d killed his father, no matter how much time or space they gave him to dissect what had happened and acclimate to them showering him with affection.
“I don’t ever want you to leave angry again.” Aarav added the press of his thumbs to the center of her neck, making her eyelids grow heavy. “Our jobs are too dangerous for that. Both because you shouldn’t be preoccupied on the job and also because I never want the last thing we say to each other to be something we regret.”
Cash nodded. “If nothing else, this has shown me that things can change, can be taken away in a heartbeat. So I don’t want to waste any more time debating if this is possible with my brain when my soul already knows the answer.”
Tears prickled Sola’s eyes. Again. This time because joy overwhelmed her. They were saying things she couldn’t make sense of unless they were about to make her wildest dreams come true.
“Miss Nibbles is yours,” Aarav told her. “But we’d prefer it if she was ours, too.”
Cash scooted forward so he could hold one of Sola’s hands and one of Aarav’s. “We have a bond. One that I want to explore. I’ve never met a single person as decent as both of you. When life throws hurdles in our path, I want to know I have two incredible humans like you to help me over it.”
“If you want Miss Nibbles. Us. And a life together…” Aarav looked up at her from beneath his dark brows as if he wasn’t sure how desperately she’d hoped this was how things could go when she got back.
It was impossible that Cash could forgive them.
That Aarav could allow them in.
And that she hadn’t been too brazen to scare them both away.
She didn’t let him finish. “I do!”
“Then accept our gift as a promise of the life we want to build with you.” Cash leaned over and kissed her cheek. “One where we can have all the things we were too afraid to believe possible until we met each other.”
“I’m so sorry about your dad,” Sola whispered, leaning her forehead on his.
“Me too. I wish he hadn’t been so far gone…” Cash either didn’t understand she’d been talking about them getting rid of the bastard, or he simply didn’t agree it was something that merited an apology.
“And I’m sorry you had to make that impossible choice.” She leaned against Aarav, tucking her head on his shoulder as Miss Nibbles licked her fingers.
Aarav looked her dead in the eyes. “I didn’t. He did.”
Cash shrugged. “In that moment, everything became crystal clear to me. I could be like him—ignoring the bigger picture in order to make life easier for myself—or I could try to be the man you two think you see in me. I choose you. I choose love.”
Sola petted Miss Nibbles one last time, then lifted her from the cage and cuddled her close to her chest like Cash had Mr. Prickles when he’d been lost. She knew it had been that instant that she’d fallen for him. “The front door is locked, right?”
“Yeah, why?” Aarav gave her a questioning stare.
“Because Miss Nibbles doesn’t deserve to be locked up.” She set the bunny on the carpet and watched her hop around them excitedly before opening the side door to the enclosure so she could get back in if she needed a drink or preferred to lay in her comfy pile of hay. “She’s safe here. Free to explore to her heart’s content and be loved by not only me, but both of you too. She’s the luckiest bunny in the world.”
“Are we still talking about Miss Nibbles?” Cash asked as he tucked Sola’s loose waves behind her ear.
“Each of us has escaped our own cage.” Sola stood and held out her hands. Both of her guys took one and joined her as they made their way to the bedroom, careful not to disturb Miss Nibbles as she bounced around, her ears flopping as she celebrated her good fortune.
“Let me make up for last time.” Cash hesitated on the threshold. “I trust you to take what you need from me and to give me your love in return.”
“You have it, Cash.” Aarav kissed first Sola, and then their lover.
And she knew they were about to have one spectacular welcome home party. Because sometimes, if you were willing to change just a little, you might discover all the things you thought were out of reach wind up clutched in your hands.
19
Cash had lost some things in the past twenty-four hours, but he’d also gained a hell of a lot. Clarity, about who he was and who he wanted to be. Confidence, about his place in this new world he’d found himself in. And compassion, for the issues each of them struggled with.